Pope Francis died on Monday morning, Vatican Chamberlain Cardinal Kevin Ferrell announced. He died after a long battle with bilateral pneumonia, and was discharged from the hospital a month ago.
"This morning at 7:35, the Bishop of Rome Francis returned to the Father's house. His whole life was dedicated to serving the Lord and his Church. He taught us to live the values of the Gospel with faithfulness, courage and universal love, especially for the poorest and most marginalized. With immense gratitude for his example as a true disciple of the Lord Jesus, we commend the soul of Pope Francis to the infinite, merciful love of God, One and Tribune," announced Farrell, as reported by AP.
The first non-European to head the Roman Catholic Church after 1200 years
Pope Francis, born in Argentina as Jorge Mario Bergoglio, was elected pope in March 2013, following the resignation of his predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI. The conclave began on March 12, 2013 and was attended by 115 cardinals. On the second day of the conclave, in the fifth election round, Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, who was considered an outsider in the papal election due to his age and changing health, received a two-thirds majority of the votes and was elected as the 266th pope and thus the 265th successor of Saint Peter. For the papal name he took the Latin Franciscus (Francis).
When he was elected pope, few could envy him. The church was in crisis, accused of not responding to the needs of the faithful, with a terrible burden of accumulated problems and a long list of expectations.
Two things seemed encouraging, though. The first is the very fact that the previous Pope Benedict XVI retired from office, and the second was visible at the very beginning of Pope Francis' pontificate. Someone will say that she saw herself the moment he stepped out onto the balcony after being elected. He simply behaved differently.
He was the first non-European to head the Roman Catholic Church in more than 1200 years.
A "different" pope
What is "different" that one man managed to change in the first six months of the mood that has been ruling inside and around the Roman Catholic Church for decades, and what can be done and what can't be done with that pledge?
The Pope's modesty and commitment to people were known even when he lived in Argentina. When he moved to the Vatican, he refused to live in the papal suite and took a room in the part of the residence where visiting bishops stay and now the pope joins them for meals. He also refused to drive in a Mercedes, the so-called papamobile, and instead sat in a four-thirty-year-old Renault.
The priest who gave him the "reno" told later how the people from the Pope's security were very worried. Given his way of life and dealings with others, it's probably not easy for them. It was funny to watch them try to lure the boy with sweets who climbed up on the stage during Pope Francis' speech, gave him a big hug and then ran around and sat on the Pope's chair. During this time, the pope smiled, patted the boy on the head and continued to give his speech, while the child refused sweets offered to him by people from the pope's entourage, in order not to come down.
Pictures of his care are going around the world. The Pope kisses the hand of a man whose skin is covered in tumors from neurofibromatosis, then embraces him, caressing his wounds. He washes the feet of juvenile delinquents. He laughs and talks to young people. As he walks through the crowd, he looks in someone's direction and then points to his hands and says with a smile, "It's cold for short sleeves." The faces of the believers are radiant, and the pope seems spontaneous and dedicated.
Everything he said and did reverberated far away, and he handled it well. And when he declared that he had crises of faith and wondered why bad things happen to good people, the believers felt even more close. He seemed like someone who doesn't care, who cares about the world and people, and who lives what he says - that people need pastors, not clergy who act like bureaucrats or government officials.
He constantly called for help to the poor, distributed money to the homeless and organized food distribution on the streets of Rome, advocating that abandoned monasteries be used to house refugees. In the first year of his pontificate, he was given a "Harley Davidson" motorcycle as a gift, and the money from the sale was earmarked for the renovation of a shelter for the homeless.
How is the pope elected?
Facing the death of its leaders as an extremely significant, but also natural phenomenon, the Vatican has established a detailed procedure and mechanisms for functioning in that period throughout its long history. Since the mystical connection of the Church with Jesus Christ has been broken, only what is most necessary happens in the Vatican, as its center. The Vatican falls into lethargy. Almost all dignitaries in the Roman Curia, starting with the cardinal at the position of secretary of state, through the prefects and other officials of the Roman congregations, courts, councils, secretariats and other authorities, resign and close their offices. Of the high curial dignitaries, only the cardinal vicar of Rome, the cardinal of the Church of St. Peter and the great penitentiary for the forgiveness of sins, which can be forgiven only by the pope and a few others, continue to work.
Although during the sedisvacancy in the entire Roman Catholic Church and in the Vatican, nothing important must change, in the Vatican there is still a lot of work of a ceremonial and organizational-technical nature, which someone must deal with most seriously. That's why one of the three Vatican offices, called the Apostolic Chamber, is headed by the cardinal chamberlain, better known as the chamberlain of the Holy Roman Church (it should be distinguished from the chamberlain of the college of cardinals, which many do not know and do not). The position of the head of the Apostolic Chamber was almost completely devoid of content during the Pope's lifetime, although it is highly valued. With the death of the pope, he gains responsibility and becomes the most important dignitary of the Vatican, something like a regent in monarchies. During the sedisvacancy, he assumes the temporary administration of the Church and responsibility for its functioning until the election of a new pope.
The basic duties of the cardinal chamberlain are the following: 1. officially determining the death of the previous pope, 2. sealing and guarding his cabinets and apartments, i.e. the palaces in the Vatican and in the papal summer house in Castel Gandolfo, 3. organizing his funeral and 4. organizing and monitoring the election for the new pope in the so-called conclave. Due to the undoubted importance of these jobs and the traditionally great interest of the media and the wider public in them, popes appoint only those cardinals in whom they have great personal trust to this delicate position. At one time, Pope Pius XII failed to appoint a chamberlain while he was alive, which left the Vatican in a very difficult situation after his death.
In carrying out all the aforementioned tasks, the Cardinal Chamberlain is assisted by his fellow cardinals, the highest officials of the Roman Catholic Church, who gather in the Vatican from all over the world after the Pope's death. Although since Pope Paul VI's constitution Romano Pontifici eligendo, from October 1975, cardinals over 80 do not have the right to vote in the conclave, they all have the obligation to come to the pope's funeral and assist the cardinal chamberlain. Together with him, they meet daily during the interegnum in two types of congregations - general or plenary and special, which consists of the camerlengo and three other cardinals. The composition of the special congregation changes every third day, with the exception, of course, of the chamberlains. Through the work of these congregations, literally all the cardinals who arrived at the Vatican are engaged, which for many of them, especially for those who do not work in the Roman Curia, is a good opportunity to meet their colleagues from various parts of the world and thus better prepare for the central event of the sedisvacancy - the election of the new pope.
